Good In Goodbye
by sadly still mortal
Summary: Leo covers his emotions, he hides behind a mask of humor. He is used to hopeless crushes. But when he starts to get feelings for another guy, he can't take it. He runs, once again. He finds comfort, and eventually love, in an unlikely person. Valdangelo/Leico/Lico/Leco/Neo/Ghostfire, whatever you want to call it. Rated M for (possibly) some extremely smutty later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Good in Goodbye Chapter 1

Leo was walking home from work when he saw them. Sitting at a table outside of a restaurant the used to go to, was Jason, Piper, and their daughter Arianna, who was about three now. He flipped up the collar on his trench coat, shoved his hands in his pockets, and kept walking down the sidewalk.

Unfortunately, Piper still managed to notice him. "Leo?" He started to walk faster. He heard Piper get up. "Leo!" He ran. But she caught up with him, and grabbed his shoulder, effectively turning him around.

"What!" Leo snapped. That's when Piper saw it in his eyes. They didn't sparkle with mischief and humor. Instead they held hurt. Something that had to do with the reason he left. "Leo, you left camp years ago! You didn't keep in touch. We were worried! And when I finally see you, eight years later, you run away! Why?"

"Look Beauty Queen," Piper had to smile, eight years later and he still called her that. "I can't do this, not now. Maybe someday I will be able to face you and Jason. Someday I will be able to babysit my niece. But I'm still trying to cope, so goodbye, Piper. Tell her that Uncle Leo says hi." Leo managed a small, sad smile before he walked away.

X

As soon as Leo walked into the apartment, Nico could tell something was wrong. "What happened, did any monsters attack you, are you okay?!" Leo just sighed, and heaved his body into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. "I saw _them_." "Oh." Nico said as he sat his hand on Leo's shoulder. In the last eight years, Nico had changed. He still wore the same dark clothing, and could still be seen brooding often. But, he was more open and smiled more. He had taken Jason's advice and came out to the seven and Reyna after the war.

After a while, Nico's crush on Percy dissipated, and he became interested in someone else. This time his problem wasn't the other's girlfriend, he was single. Oh no, it was that this crush was on his friend who now shared an apartment with him. Nico had to restrain himself when Leo would stumble into the kitchen for breakfast, sleepy, and in just pajama pants.

A "Why is this so hard?" broke Nico out of his thoughts. He sighed and sat down across from the son of Hephaestus. Nico was the only one who knew about Leo being bisexual. After developing feelings for Jason, Leo broke. He couldn't hide behind the jokes anymore. He stayed at camp long enough to get the gods to get Calypso off of Ogygia, then he left, running from his feelings like Nico used to.

"How did you get over Percy?" "Well, I told him how I felt, but said I knew it wouldn't happen, and that I hoped we would still be friends. My feelings for him started to lessen, and as time went on, our friendship grew, and I started to like someone else." The last statement seemed to grab Leo's attention. "Who?! Do I know them?" Soon Leo was pestering Nico about his new crush. Leo seemed to be back to his old loud, annoying, hyper self.


	2. Chapter 2

Good in Goodbye Chapter 2

Piper sighed as she sat back down at the café table. Jason frowned as Arianna squirmed in his lap. "Where'd he go? Did he tell you anything?" Piper looked close to tears. "I'll tell you at home. It's time for Ari's nap anyway."

Once inside the magical borders of Camp Olympus*, the Graces walked to the other end of camp, where a small city like New Rome, called New Olympia, flourished. Jason walked up the porch stairs of a cozy blue and gray house and unlocked the door. Piper walked in, Arianna toddling beside her, holding her mother's hand. Jason shut the door behind him, scooped up his daughter, much to her protest, and carried her to her room to put her down for her nap.

Piper plopped down on the couch, kicking off her boots. Jason came back into the living room a few minutes later, sitting down beside his wife and putting an arm around her shoulders. "So what happened?" Piper recalled the story, telling him about what Leo had said. Jason shook his head. "My best friend has been missing for years and now we finally see him and he runs away, refusing to talk." Suddenly, the phone rings, breaking Jason and Piper from their thoughts. "I'll get it Jason, you just sat down."

"Hello?"

"_Hey Pipes."_

"Oh, hi Annabeth."

"_I just called to chat."_

"Ok."

"_Is something wrong Piper? Are you and Jason fighting? Is Ari ok?"_

"No, no, Jason and I are fine, so is Ari."

"_Then what's wrong?"_

"I saw Leo today."

Annabeth gasped.

"_Where? What happened? Is he alright?"_

"Annabeth, calm down. We were at that little café downtown that we used to go to. We were having lunch when I saw him. I called out to him, but he ran. I managed to catch up to him, but when I did, the only thing he said was that he couldn't deal with seeing us yet. He didn't even seem to want to talk to Jason. I'm just worried, Annabeth."

"_I know, we all are. What did he mean by he couldn't deal with it?"_

"I have no idea. Something is obviously bothering him."

"_We should search more around that area. Maybe we can find him again. I'll call and tell everyone else, okay?"_

"Ok, bye Annabeth."

"_Bye."_

***The combined Greek and Roman camp that lies where Camp Half-Blood used to.***


	3. Chapter 3

Good in Goodbye Chapter 3

When Leo had disappeared, everyone had went on a frantic search for him. Six of the seven, Reyna, and Nico searched constantly for a month. The Iris Messages they sent wouldn't work. They seemed to be cut off. They even checked the Underworld. While they were relieved that he was still alive, they were still worried. Eventually Chiron told them that they needed to go on with their lives.

They did, but they never stopped searching. Sometimes other demigods would go with them, trying to help. Years went on, there were proposals, weddings, and pregnancies, but everyone still missed the son of Hephaestus. They moved into New Olympia, and Nico bought an apartment downtown, not far from Camp Olympus.

One month of each year they would all get together an look for Leo. The thing that bothered the group the most was that they had no clue why he was gone.

The six and Reyna never knew that one rainy day in March Nico opened his apartment door to see a soaking wet Leo Valdez standing in the hallway. After being pulled into the apartment and handed a towel and some dry clothes, Leo told Nico everything. That had been the second year of him being missing. Leo had gratefully accepted Nico's offer to live in his apartment, but made the son of Hades promise to tell nobody about him, to pretend he is still gone.

X

(back to the present)

That night, Leo couldn't sleep, which wasn't all that unusual. But tonight, his mind wasn't plagued with thoughts of Jason, and his other friends, but of Nico. Something Nico had said had stuck with Leo. "I started to like someone else." he had said. Could it be him? Leo wasn't exactly sure when, but after staying with Nico for a while, he had started to like him a little more than as a friend.

His feelings were still pretty strong when it came to Jason, but Nico had caught his attention too. Leo knew he didn't have a chance with Jason, but he hoped that when he got himself all sorted out, he and Jason would stay friends, and maybe, just maybe, that Nico would become more. Little did he know that Nico was awake too, wondering if he would ever have a chance with the fire user.

***I just now noticed that I didn't put a disclaimer on my first 2 chapters, or at the beginning of this one, so here it is. I DO NOT OWN PJO OR HOO.***


End file.
